Bottle of Red

PG; History, Romance, Crime. A young artistic couple in 1945 witnesses mob killing at Louis Italian-American Restaurant.

Bottle of Red: Page 1 of 7

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About This Page

The first panel, like all the restaurant interior shots, were tough to draw since my only referrence was freeze-framing “The Godfather” DVD. Most of the Google Image results were too low in resolution to be of any use. I did the best I could, but there are some errors that still bother me.

This isn’t a true 12 x 18 inch page. The first panel was drawn on the standard 10 x 15 inches. Challenges include the Noel Sickles-inspired logo and drawing the assassination scene from a different angle than the movie. After deciding to work on the larger size, I drew the second panel on another sheet of paper, then assembled both in Photoshop. The fashions, cars and Savation Army sign are authentic Winter 1945.

Bottle of Red: Page 2 of 7

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This is the first authentic 12 x 18 inch page I've ever drawn! Had to tilt my drafting table almost vertical to minimize top-of-page visual distortion. Experimenting with lettering Ames/nibs combinations, I settled on Ames 4.5/Even Spaced with Speedball B-6 (B-5 for bold). I've used the high-grade Strathmore 500 Series Bristol for the smaller size, since it comes in 14 x 17 inch pads. With the deadline looming, I got the larger, lower-grade 300 Series for this page -- the performance drop-off was noticable. Inconsistent ink coverage, erasing took ink off paper. This series sucks! The later pages were drawn on the 500 Series -- with much better results!

June Mills and Bill Everett worked at comic book publisher Fiction House. At the time of this story, the industry was considered trashy by serious artists. Bill created "The Sub-Mariner" in this period.

June created "Miss Fury" -- the first female superhero in black tights! She signed her name "Tarpe Mills" to hide her gender. The book was so popular that the secret somehow came out -- with no negative backlash. Since my fictionalization portrays her as an art student in 1945, I thought it was important to show how she supported herself.

According to the Farmers Almanac, the weather 32/25 degrees with no snow.

Bottle of Red: Page 3 of 7

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Recreating the room from screenshots was tough. Honestly don't think I really understood the scale until page 6.

Bottle of Red: Page 4 of 7

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This story was originally written a comics anthology about food. Therefore, the waiter's description of a main dish seemed to make sense. The film only refers to "the veal". Researching what that could have been in 1945 took a lot of time and effort.

Bottle of Red: Page 5 of 7

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Bottle of Red: Page 6 of 7

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Bottle of Red: Page 7 of 7

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Story Notes

My story is partially inspired by a scene in The Godfather where Michael kills Sollozzo and McClusky. I thought it’d be funny to tell that story from the viewpoint of a couple of innocent bystanders in the restaurant.

The assassination took place in the Bronx in December of 1945. To get The Godfather details correct, I pulled screenshots from the film and read the novel. The period details include the New York art scene, weather, historical events, popular music, slang, cars and more. Trina Robbins contributed to the research. In addition to fashion and street-level historical details I would have missed, she also designed Jill’s shoes and pointed out the perfect veal dish for the period.

The couple is based on Bill Everette and June Tarpe Mills. In real life, both were established comic book artists.

Like “Lucky Seven“, the original art is 12 x 18 inches. This is a departure from the current standard of 10 x 15 inches.

Dave M!, giving you an offer you can’t refuse.